Lt Alex Storm - Borrowed Walls
Karen Morris
(( Alleged Monastery, Callis 1 ))
There really was only one thing to say once she and MacKenzie arrived to find the others tending the fire in the quickening darkness, and the Captain handled that statement with the precision of a surgeon.
MacKenzie: Everyone gather your equipment. We found a space in the city with gear that is more secure… But we don’t have much time - it will be dark soon.
Brexis: Aye Sir.
There was a flurry of movement. Alex didn’t have much to move. All she really needed was her waterbottle, but she could help with the few camp supplies they had managed to gather.
Storm: I didn’t go looking for any, but I wonder if there’s any soap in that store. That would be worth its weight in gold at the moment.
She slowly bent over to grab the strap of her water bottle. As she did, a portion of stringy hair fell in front of her face.
Storm: And shampoo. Definitely shampoo.
Cole: Response
Syn: ::dazed:: Are we leaving?
MacKenzie looked at Cole and gestured to Syn.
MacKenzie: ::to Cole:: Are you able to help it?
Cole: Response
Alex slipped the strap of her waterbottle over her head, adjusting it as she walked over to everyone else.
Brexis: ::To Storm:: Do you need me to carry anything else.
Storm: We don’t have too much to carry. We’ll want some firewood to get a fire started in the upstairs fireplace. But really, anything else we might want, other than food, is likely already there.
Cole got the Ensign up to their feet.
Syn: ::leaning heavily on their guard:: Sure you don’t wanna lock me up here, come back later?
Brexis: Nah, we are bringing you in case one of the creatures comes after us. You are bait, my friend.
At hearing Charlotte’s words, Alex’s steps toward the door stuttered once. She knew it was a joke, but it still didn’t sit right. Storm looked to MacKenzie.
Storm: Other than what little food we have, I don’t think we need to take much with us other than firewood and our canteens, don’t you think? I think the store has most anything we could need.
Cole: Response
They all exited the Monastery, and Alex hung back, a bundle of wood in one hand and a machete in the other. Once onto the road, she turned her heels to their group and took a few steps backward as she scanned the area behind them. She couldn’t sense anything - and her head wasn’t pounding, but she wanted a quick visual check. The sun was almost even with the horizon and the shadows were stretched to the edge of believability. Were their unwavering forms a deception, or did the silence and shadows speak truth? A gust of wind blew in from the direction of the forest, blowing Alex’s matted hair askew. She gave her head a shake to settle it into place again.
Once Alex felt as certain as she could be that they weren’t being stalked, she turned back around and followed the others at a little distance. It was easier to watch for things out of the ordinary if she weren’t so close to a situation. A leaf fluttered across her path, and she thought she heard the scurrying of a rodent somewhere nearby.
Syn: ::giggling at the edge of sanity:: Hello, little beasties. ::turning to Brexis:: Aren’t they cute like this?
Brexis: Sure thing buddy. ::booping them on the nose:: They sure are.
Alex’s eyes were already on the prowl, so Syn’s ravings didn’t scare her as they might have otherwise, or if they had been accompanied by a crippling headache.
Cole: Response
Part of the way down the lane, Alex’s eyes searched the sky. Her dark blue friend wasn’t around. Had he decided they weren’t worth the trouble, or did he know that trouble was already afoot? Alex paused once more and turned around, trying to make out anything moving in the long shadows of the quickly fading sun. As she did, it slipped below the horizon, laying a blanket of silence across the city.
Arriving at the broken fountain, Alex’s eyes lost their furrowed brow. Only steps left to go to her own room, her own bed. The others moved to the door. Alex held her spot near where the road's spoke met the center of the town. From her vantage point, she heard MacKenzie’s words…
((Storefront - Callis I))
MacKenzie: home, sweet home. …Again.
Brexis: It’s not our ship… But it’s better than where we were. Thanks Sir.
Once everyone was inside, Alex brought up the rear, slipping inside.
Storm: If you find any soap, don’t hoard it all to yourselves. Hopefully, there’s more than enough to go around.
Cole/Syn: Response
MacKenzie: Storm, secure the doors and windows. Cole and Syn, see if you can get a fire started. Brexis, see if there’s a pot somewhere around here… I want to try cooking the berries down into a jam and see if that makes them more tolerable for our delirious crew member…
Brexis: Sure thing. Let me see what I can find.
Storm: Fireplace is upstairs. There was a kitchen-like room. It may already have a pot in it, Charlotte. Through that door down there, and up the stairs.
Alex gestured to the storage room at the end of the building opposite the chimney. Walking over to the door, Alex turned around and pressed her backside against it, pushing it shut inch by inch. She was going to have to find some lubricant. But that was a tomorrow problem.
While the others were busy with their given tasks, Alex pushed a heavy table against the door for extra good measure, not that dark ones could climb stairs even if they got into the store. The table was more about allowing her spirit to relax than actual safety.
She pushed back the curtains, opened the shutters, and checked the windows. They were as secure as they could be. But using the last of the light before she closed everything up again, she glanced around until she found what she was looking for. A series of lanterns was situated on a shelf across the room. She grabbed four of them - two in each hand. Setting them on a table near the window, she grabbed four candles and fit them into the holder inside the lantern. Then, using a striker she had found earlier, she lit each of the candles and handed out three of the four lamps. Once that was completed, she closed the inside shutters again and dropped the curtains back into place.
Cole/Syn: Response
MacKenzie: Oh, and I forgot the best part of our new abode - separate rooms.
Brexis: Best gift you could have given me. ::patting her chest over her heart:: Thanks Sir.
Storm: I’ll take first watch down here. But if you scrounge up anything to eat, let me know.
Cole/Syn: Response
As the others eventually made their way upstairs, Alex wandered through the store, taking mental inventory of their good fortune. Well, mostly good fortune. The store would provide almost everything their bodies needed - with the possible exception of food. But a body isn’t good without a soul. And at that moment, she would have done almost anything to satisfy the one tenuous hope of her soul over the needs of her body.
~*~
Tags / TBC!
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2